‘Anonymous’ Denies Hacking PlayStation Network

Anonymous protesters adjust their masks. The hacktivist group denies it is responsible for Sony's network breaches.Photo: Matt Westervelt/Flickr

Online hacktivist clan Anonymous has denied accusations that it was behind the recent PlayStation Network attack, and claims other “online thieves” have framed the group.

[partner id=”wireduk”]On May 4, the chairman of Sony’s board of directors, Kaz Hirai, testified to the U.S. House of Representatives about the “very carefully planned, very professional, highly sophisticated criminal cyberattack” that has taken the PSN offline since April.

In the hearing, Hirari — who didn’t attend, but submitted his testimony in writing — revealed that the hacker left a smug digital calling card on the Sony Online Entertainment servers, which were hacked days after PlayStation Network. The file was called “Anonymous,” and simply read “We Are Legion.”

The group is ballsy, but not stupid, it claims. A press release from the group says, “No one who is actually associated with our movement would do something that would prompt a massive law enforcement response.” On the other hand, Anonymous writes, “a group of standard online thieves would have every reason to frame [us] in order to put law enforcement off the track.”

The clan also wants to make clear that its attacks are political in nature, and promote activism — not theft. “Anonymous has never been known to have engaged in credit card theft,” the group declares.

In early April, Anonymous admitted that it was behind a spate of intermittent network problems on various PlayStation services. But following public outcry from disgruntled gamers, Anonymous backed down and said it would desist attacks on PSN.

“We realize that targeting the PSN is not a good idea,” a statement from the group reads. “We have therefore temporarily suspended our action, until a method is found that will not severely impact Sony customers.”

At the House of Representatives hearing, panelists hit Sony hard. Rep. Mary Bono Mack expressed her disappointment with the company’s response — not telling customers for days, and only presenting the information on a blog — calling it “half-hearted, half-baked.”

Security expert Gene Spafford of Purdue University said that Sony was using outdated and obsolete software on its servers for months in advance of the attack, and the gaming giant knew about it. The Apache web server that held data on millions of customers was “unpatched and had no firewall installed,” a problem that was brought up by Sony employees on an open forum months before the attack.

Now, as the company works to bring the network back online, Sony President Howard Stringer has swung by the PlayStation Blog to offer his own message.”We are absolutely dedicated to restoring full and safe service as soon as possible and rewarding you for your patience,” he writes. “We will settle for nothing less.

“As a company we — and I — apologize for the inconvenience and concern caused by this attack.”

Sony has now begun “the final stages of internal testing of the new system,” which is “an important step towards restoring PlayStation Network and Qriocity services.” There is still no confirmed date for when the services will be turned back on.